All the hung ga weapon forms/techniques are broken down in 8 basic directions, if that's what you mean. We don't use a trigram pattern on the floor or anything, but those positions/movements are in there. The whole routine is basically those few basic sword attacks/defenses repeated in the 8 directions.

Not just with the footwork, but perpendicular to the floor too, so the cutting motions of the sword also resemble an asterisk. For example, in Western fencing you have angles 1 and 2 as downward X strokes, 3 and 4 as upward X strokes, 5 and 6 as horizontal forehand and backhand, and 7 and 8 as straight up and straight down. Cuts, not steps. The cuts can be applied with all the different steps.

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For a clumsy lug like myself, doing anything right with a dao is masterful. I don't train with a wushu dao either, mine is semisharpened steel so I've gotten a few close shaves due to my own carelessness. Instant karma.

Oddly enough, the only time I've cut myself with a broadsword was with a wushu sword- it was so thin that even though I was using the spine of the blade around my neck it gave me a little papercut on the back of the neck.

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It's definitely not a fighting stance or ready stance. For that, see the Dadao video ...the stances there are more like the practical hang yuet "ready stance".

No dangling limbs or exposed leg, for sure.

Lots of cross stepping too.

1/03/2013 12:55pm,

W. Rabbit

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Originally Posted by Permalost

Not just with the footwork, but perpendicular to the floor too, so the cutting motions of the sword also resemble an asterisk. For example, in Western fencing you have angles 1 and 2 as downward X strokes, 3 and 4 as upward X strokes, 5 and 6 as horizontal forehand and backhand, and 7 and 8 as straight up and straight down. Cuts, not steps. The cuts can be applied with all the different steps.

I see.

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Originally Posted by Permalost

Lots of cross stepping too.

I don't see a problem with that in weapons play.

I know there are many situations where crosstepping is not wise, I don't think swordplay is one of them.

1/03/2013 1:25pm,

W. Rabbit

For comparison here is a wushu form of the dao (1994 gold metal competition). I have no idea what form this is. The hang yuet form I know doesn't have 2/3rds of whatever's going on in this set...I think that is a good thing.

Both hang yuet and this are both dao forms....but one still stands out (to me) drastically more practical than the other.

I know there are many situations where crosstepping is not wise, I don't think swordplay is one of them.

There are certain kinds of cross stepping that are sometimes okay, but in general it throws off your ability to step off in any direction. If you do a cross step as you block or parry (or attack), I have a very good idea of where you're going to go next- you're gonna step through, or you're gonna go back to where you came from. Or, if you're really fancy, you'll unwind into a spinning something or other. At any rate, these possibilities are few compared to the ones where you don't cross the feet.

Plus the other reasons they say not to cross the feet.

1/03/2013 11:04pm,

W. Rabbit

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Originally Posted by Permalost

There are certain kinds of cross stepping that are sometimes okay, but in general it throws off your ability to step off in any direction. If you do a cross step as you block or parry (or attack), I have a very good idea of where you're going to go next- you're gonna step through, or you're gonna go back to where you came from.

Cross stepping in Hung ga (this is called dragon or unicorn stepping) is trained to be quick and transitional, that way you don't get "stuck" in a disadvantageous position or telegraph your movements like you suggested.

If you get a "very good idea of where I'm going next", I've been too slow. When live blades are involved it definitely makes a difference.